Characterization of ZnSe Nanolayers by Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Single layers of ZnSe with thicknesses of 30, 40, 50, 70 and 100 nm are deposited at room substrate temperature by thermal evaporation of ZnSe powder in vacuum. The layers surface morphology has been investigated by atomic force microscopy. Structural characterization by the Raman scattering measurement revealed the existence of randomly oriented crystalline ZnSe particles in all layers, and the presence of amorphous phase in layers thinner than 100 nm. The ellipsometric measurements were performed in the range from 1.5 to 5 eV at room temperature in air. To interpret the experimental results, the Bruggeman effective medium approximation of dielectric function of ZnSe layers has been used, representing the layers as different mixtures of crystalline ZnSe (c-ZnSe), amorphous ZnSe (a-ZnSe), and voids. The assumption of polycrystalline ZnSe layers modeled as mixture of porous c-ZnSe (with volume fraction of voids ≈ 0.17) and a-ZnSe gives the best fit of ellipsometric experimental data. Single layer thicknesses similar to those expected from preparation conditions have been obtained by this fitting procedure. It has been also found that decrease in the layer thickness causes an increase of the volume fraction of a-ZnSe. Thus, c-ZnSe/a-ZnSe ratio, porosity and layer thickness obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry, provides useful information about crystallinity and micro-/nanostructure of ZnSe nanolayers.